dead or alive? a family in panic. did two young children die in the house fire or have they been abducted? when you are running for president, every moment counts. even mitt romney's running mate admits there have been a few bad moments lately. >> i think he is being humble. >> two of our favorite political analysts on whether romney can recover at this week's presidential debate. what happened? the u.s. team falls apart and the europeans take the ryder cup back home. >> and is there life out there?

nasa says a river really did run through it. more evidence there may have been life on mars. good evening, everyone. you are in the "cnn newsroom." let's get you up to speed. the presidential candidates are headed west. president obama is in nevada tonight holding a rally at desert pines high school. let's take a moment and listen in. >> i will use the money we are no longer spending on war to do nation building here at home, rebuilding roads and bridges and putting americans back to work and that's part of what makes america strong. that's what we're going to do. so this is the choice we face in the election, and this is what the election comes down to, and i know you must be tired of

hearing ads, but you will hear moreover the next six weeks, and over and over again, you will hear my opponents talking about how bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations and that's the way to go, and since government can't do anything, it should do almost nothing. if you can't afford health care, then hope you don't get sick is their theory. if you can't afford colleg borrow money from your parents. you know what? that's not who we are. i don't think government can solve all of our problems, but government is nothe source of all of our problems, either. there's stuff we can do together. instead of blaming, immigrants, unions or gays or somebody for what is going on, what we need to do is pull together. we're all in this together. we believe that america only works when we all accept responsibility for ourselves and for our each other. that's how we create --

>> mr. obama will be on the road through wednesday's first presidential debate. mitt romney heads to colorado tomorrow where he will hold a rally and continue his preparations for wednesday's showdown in denver. he went to church this morning outside boston but held no public events over the weekend. in iraq, at least 30 people were killed today in a wave of bombings. sudden explosions hit in or near baghdad. it's the deadliest day in iraq in nearly a month. shiite muslim communities appear to be the targets of the attacks. a pakistani girl accused of desecrating the koran. she was setup. this is a desperate search for two little children in tennessee.

everybody believed a 9-year-old girl and her 7-year-old brother were among those killed, but remains have not been found. police consider the kids not dead but missing, and more on that story coming up moments away. and in texas, stranded drivers had to be rescued after flooding drenched parts of the state yesterday. get this. the past three days, yep, brought more rain than texas got all of last year when it suffered through one of the worst droughts in history. today's storms moved east into parts of louisiana and mississippi, and there are expected to continue on the path for the next 48 hours. the pope's former butler is on trial in a vatican city courtroom.

he is accused of stealing secret papers from pope benedict xvi, and leaking them to papers. some of the evidence was asked to be stricken. and then a dramatic comeback against the u.s. team to hold on to the trophy. a german golfer sank the ball on the 18th hole to clinch the victory. the europeans came roaring back on the final day of play. more from the ryder cup in just a few minutes. in los angeles, crews working quickly to finish this bridge demolition over the 405 freeway. there was a scary moment when the bridge came down unexpectedly. no traffic snarls materialized. the 405 is set to re-open

tomorrow. and there's word tonight that rnc officials cut ties for the consulting firm it hired. the firm turned in suspicious voter application forms. and david, what are you learning? >> we don't know how big or small it's going to be but we do know that election officials in florida right now are looking at these forms that were filled out. this coming from a company called strategic allied consulting. it was hired by the republican party to do voter registration there which is something parties do in every election, but what they were doing here, this company says one of their employees may have put

fraudulent signatures on some of these forms. they don't know for sure, but they turned over these documents to the election officials there, and now they are going to be going through 106 applications, and officials say they may broaden that out in palm beach county which seems to be ground zero for this. officials saying they may look at 60,000 recently changed applications just to make sure this is not part of a bigger trend. so it may be one of something out of those 106, but they are going to look for more, and we are told the election supervisor in that county saying she doesn't believe it's a crisis but wants to be true. >> it's interesting, because we are talking about 106 registrations, and you have that and one person doing it and it taints the entire process. it's not just in florida that this firm was doing voter registration, correct? >> this firm was hired by the republican party to work in a number of the battleground states, and florida, north carolina and virginia, and the rnc, the republican national committee says we are severing ties with them and that company has been fired and we are

waiting to hear from all of those states to see if they are using them possibly on the state level. >> these are battleground states and that's why voter registration in the area is so crucial. >> and absolutely why they need to maintain the integrity of the process which is why they are reacting in the way they are. >> thank you so much, as always. appreciate the insights. the supreme court has a new docket. we will look at the hot-button issues the justices are expected to tackle. when you are running from president, every moment counts. and even romney's running mate admits there have been bumps lately. because of business people like you. and regions is here to help.

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there sure is. [ man ] look what i found. it's a fiddler on the roof. ♪ [ up-tempo country ] what are the chances? [ announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ mitt romney's running mate acknowledged what he described as campaign missteps. we talked about the campaign race's final two debates. i asked anna if paul ryan's remarks are part of the deliberate strategy. >> i don't know if it's a smart strategy, but i know it's a realistic strategy. obviously they are down in the polls and they have to do retweaking. i think he is being humble and

realistic, and he's admitting there have been mistakes made, and so i think it's a good thing. they do need to eat a little humble pie and admit that things are not all rosy. >> peggy said it was crucial. do you see the debate is crucial? >> the first debate is the only debate that matters at this point. if romney cannot hit obama with what he has to say in the first -- these have not been gaffes by mitt romney. this is mitt romney. this is not the first time he talked about not caring about people less fortunate than him. he said he was not concerned about the very poor. this is not like a misstep. it's a consistent theme with him and it's up to the voters to see

if they agree with him. it's not gaffes, it's him. >> how does mitt romney have to appear. does he have to be aggressive? what is the right tone? when we saw him before when he was running for the nominee, he could be a little bit aggressive. remember that point when he said to rick perry, i bought you 10,000 -- not going over in the presidential debates, right? >> mitt romney seemed to function well when he was coming from behind. anything that could give them hope, when he seems to be coming from somebody else having the momentum, he seems better as a frontrunner, and if he has hope going in, if he is able to take that and be aggressive and attack president obama, because let's face it, the president is still vulnerable and the only

reason why romney is not winning is because romney has been an absolute idiot the last two or three weeks, and if he can correct that perhaps he could bring it back in his favor. >> we like to use the word missteps. >> go ahead. >> and president obama is vulnerable. where does romney have to strike him? >> he has to do what he did in the last two debates in florida. he has to come across as knowledgeable and presidential, and assertive, know his stuff and do his homework, not dodge the questions but rather answer them directly and he needs to pivot and put the pressure back on president obama. if we see the mitt romney as we saw in the last two debates, we will see an able candidate.

the annual event aims to bring people together to pray for members of the judiciary before they hear cases. some say it mixes religion and government. and there may be hot-button issues like affirmative action and same-sex marriage. the justices went their separate ways after the controversial health care ruling in june, and joe johns looks how the rooting may have affected the justices. >> they beginning of the new session the supreme court will be watched for signs of strain between the justices or anything else suggesting things may have changed since the health care

ruling which was the biggest ruling in the court since bush versus gore a decade ago. after the supreme court judge, john roberts joked to colleagues that he would find an island to escape the heat. >> the charm has been more than usually taxing, and some have called it the term of the century. >> three months later the court is back and there are no signs of it cooling down. >> the justices are moving from the frying pan into the fire, and they are tackling some of the most legal questions of the day. across the board, probably the biggest term in at least a decade. >> cases involving the contention issues of affirmative action, and same-sex marriage and voting rights and abortion are likely to come up this term which kicks off monday. >> there are some very exciting cases already in the docket and more in the pipeline that may -- the court will be making a division on soon.

>> another set of decisions could bring more on the justices. >> no, i have not had a falling out with justice roberts. >> loud words exchanged? >> no. >> slamming the doors? >> no. >> nothing like that? >> nothing like that. >> liberals fear a more hard line and dogmatic shift to the right? >> a lot of progressives are concerned that this might mean that chief justice roberts built-up capital and goodwill and will now push the conservative agenda. >> tom goldstein who argued before the court thinks roberts wants a more conservative court but will do it gradually. >> he is not trying to move the law radically quickly.

justice scalia or thomas want to get to the end answer as quickly as possible and conform the law into what they understand it to be. >> but some don't believe much will change anytime soon. >> this is not a crusading conservative court. until we have a shift it's impossible to call it a court that liens more to the left or the right. >> for opinions that could be close, attention will be paid to anthony kennedy who is frequently the swing vote in some of the toughest cases. >> joe johns there for us in washington. a tennessee house fire leaves two grand parents dead and there are no signs of two kids staying at the home. it has been a week and investigators are getting desperate. small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! helium delivery. put it on my spark card!

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distraught parents and frustrated police officers,

found nothing today where small children were last seen in tennessee. police believed for days that a young brother and sister had died. the remains have still not been found prompting the search to go wider and become much more urgent. here is our national correspondent, susan candiotti. >> authorities in tennessee spent another day looking for any sign of 9-year-old chloe, and her half brother, gage daniel. they looked in the woods and around the house with dogs to see if they could pick up leads as they search for the children. after more than a week of shifting through ashes and debris, investigators found no sign of the tw no sign the youngsters were there and so far no evidence they weren't when an inferno swept through the home where they lived with their grandparents. friends and family don't

understand and neither does anybody else. >> the more you find out, the more questions you have. >> helicopters equipped with infrared cameras found no sign of children in the surrounding woods either. the children were last seen playing in the neighborhood about three hours before the fire started last sunday night. did someone take them? the tennessee bureau of investigation issued an amber alert friday night calling the missing children endangered. authorities don't know what caused the fire adding to the mystery. >> they said it was not an intentional fire, but obviously there is more to it than that. >> chloe's parents are not considered suspects according to police. >> we are tired, but we want th to continue on until we find out what has happened to the children. >> police have a number of leads but they are not discussing them. there are a lot of questions. for example, could the children have run into the woods when the fire started or did somebody kidnap them.

the search continues on monday. debra? >> susan, thanks. the u.s. took a big lead into the final day of the ryder cup, but eventually it just all fell apart in the face of a european comeback. which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety. ♪ [ female announcer ] for everything your face has to face. face it with puffs facial tissues. unlike the leading regular tissue, puffs has soft, air-fluffed pillows for 40% more cushiony thickness. so you can always put your best face forward. face every day with puffs softness. a short word that's a tall order.

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the european team rallying from behind to win the prestigious ryder cup. shane o'donahue has more from the cup. >> reporter: they had home advantage, and their players were in inspirational form and they had an insurmountable lead, and 10-6 was the gap, and they came up in inspired form as they

bulldozed their way through sunday's matches to accumulate 8.5 points from a possible 12. the home side were left shell shocked. >> a lot of guys played great but got beat by somebody that played better. >> nobody wants to lose. they played better than we did today. >> this compared to '99? >> yeah. >> that was fun, and this was pretty miserable. it was a lot of fun being on the other end, but not very much fun today. >> we tried to get points on the board early, and we did that, and so we just fed the rest of the team, and -- i can't believe it. it's an unbelievable feeling. >> rory hitched a ride in a police car no less and getting here with a precious seven minutes to spare, and he went casually out on the course without hitting a practice ball

and contributing a point to the european effort. >> minutes to spare. men in zebra stripes seem to be the most popular guys on the planet today. the referees back to work. they were greeted like rock stars, posing with fans and players. the end of the three-week lockouts send temporary refs packing. the eight-year contract comes with a pay raise. >> three days until two men who want to lead the country go head to head in the first debate. what can voters expect? that's up next. against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

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it's just passed the half hour now and let's look at the headlines. countdown to election day with five weeks to go, and president obama is out west holding a rally this hour at a las vegas high school. he will be on the road through wednesday's first presidential debate. mitt romney keeping a lower profile this weekend, and tomorrow he heads to colorado rallying a crowd and preparing for dnesday's debate. key decision makers attended the red mass including six of the nine supreme court justices. the annual event aims to bring people together to pray for the members of the judiciary before

the court hearing cases, and it's colored red mass because of the color of the garments of the clergy. a christian pakistani girl accused of desecrating the koran is set to be cleared of all charges. the 14-year-old was not only innocent but was framed by a muslim cleric in her hometown. the cleric faces blasphemy charges of his own for tearing pages out of the koran to use against the girl. it's the face-to-face showdown political watchers and voters have been waiting for. no tv ads, no campaign surrogates, just the president and his challenger one-on-one. athena jones takes a look for us. >> the romney and obama campaigns are doing their best to lower expectations ahead of the debate.

>> we expect it all night long, romney will have a good night. >> he is an experienced debater, and this is mitt's first time on this kind of a stage. >> president obama is a gifted speaker. he's done this before. this is mitt's first time on this kind of stage. >> ryan's words echoed a word from meyers haorbgs said the president was widely regarded as one of the most political communicators in modern history. there's a 25-point advantage for obama on who voters think will win the debates. the obama camp likes to remind that he doesn't have enough time to prepare for the debates because he is busy being chief. when it comes to how much debates matter, it depends. >> quite a few have lost an election with a debate. so it can matter. >> these match-ups can produce memorable lines.

like in 1980, between ronald reagan and president carter. >> there you go again. >> and lloyd benson's swipe at quail. >> jack kennedy was a friend of mine. senator, you are no jack kennedy. >> and then the moments that seemed to say more, like george h. bush looking at his watch. and rick perry's oops remark. and romney's wager, and obama's comment to then-rival hilary. >> he's got two tough competing goals, to be likeable and layout a contrast. it's hard to be likeable when you are the attack dog. >> we have gotten to know barack obama, and there's not a lot of

room on his canvas to paint, and romney can still show us who he is and where he would lead us. >> the president spends the first part of the week in the battleground state of nevada where he will be doing prep, and mitt romney will be in colorado another swing state where he will practice with ohio senator, rob porter, who is playing president obama. and so what will they say? american voters will weigh their choice and the first of three presidential debates coming up this wednesday night, and can you watch it with us live at 7:00 eastern on cnn and cnn.com. of course we take politics very seriously here. there is also a funny side. i talked with a comedian ben

glieb about debate messaging. is that like trying to make sure that each side doesn't step in a land mind kind of thing? >> they are trying to put out fires before they happen, which is not even how fire department's operate. it's amazing however year they expect us to believe this person can take our nation and in a lot of ways a planet into a new day and can lead us through the most difficult times when we are experiencing modern history, and we should believe they are not great in front of a camera. don't expect too much, because they are also a little nervous in front of people. >> happy birthday to the disc. can you guess the birthday of the first cd? see if you have it right coming up next. you are listening to billy joel's "my life," a younger th. small in size. big on safety.

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[ male announcer ] the exceedingly nimble, ridiculously agile, tight turning, fun to drive 2013 smart. ♪ you are listening to billy joel's "my life," a younger billy joel, and it's from 52nd street. the compact disc turns 30 years old tomorrow. when the first cd player hit the market it sold for $327, and it

would be the equivalent today of $17. bonnie and clyde shot dead, and nearly 100 of their possessions went on sale including pistols the duo were wearing when they were killed. the two guns together, get this, sold for $500,000. when it comes to gun control, those on the extremes of the debates go one of two ways, guns are a threat of all law-abiding gun owners, and on the other side gun control is the only way to stem gun violence and prevent tragedies. where duty candidates stand? when it comes to the second amendment, both candidates say yes, they support it. >> i believe in the second amendment. i believe in people's lawful right to bear arms. >> i will protect the second

amendment rights of the american people. >> president obama attempting to pacify critics from the national rival's association. >> i will not take your shotgun or rifle away or handgun away. >> the fact that he has not tried doesn't placate the nra with substantial warnings in 2008. >> all the first-term lip service to gun owners is part of a massive obama conspiracy to hide his true intentions to destroy the second amendment during his second term. >> consider the assault weapons ban. president obama is a yes, but

with an asterik. now, candidate romney says he opposed any new laws. >> we need a president that will enforce current laws, and not create new ones. >> mr. obama expressed the need on assaulted weapons. >> they belong in the hands of soldiers and not criminals. >> the reason obama's yes as an asterisk is because -- >> he continued to pay lip servicto those things but has not seen leadership. >> background checks havgotten more thorough under obama, and the big problem remains gun shows and the internet,

specifically unlicensed dealers with buyers and no background check needed. president obama has supported closing the gun show loophole in the past, but the white house says his focus now is on existing laws. governor romney says no to any further regulation of gun shows. >> there's no particular change in law that is going to keep people who are intent on doing harm from doing harm. >> the majority of gun owners agree we should do everything possible from preventing criminals and fugitives from purchasing weapons. >> while president obama says he wants tougher gun laws little was done during the first term, and republican challenger romney has done more in the past but says it's now enough. both candidates apparently not so different now when it comes to gun control. you can stay informed on all the issues and political news from the campaign trail. log on to cnn.com/politics.

is there life out there? nasa says a river did run through it, and we are talking mars and more evidence there may have been life on the red planet. we want viewers to stay connected on the go, and go to cnn.com/tv. if you are on a desktop or laptop you can watch cnn live. and regions is here to help. making it easier with the expertise and service to keep those wheels turning. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together. try the #1 gastroenterologist recommended probiotic. align. align naturally helps maintain digestive balance. ♪ ooh, baby, can i do for you today? ♪

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nasa believes it has found evidence that there was once water on mars.

earlier i spoke with an expert on planets about what this could mean for our own rivers here on earth. look, is that a picture of mars there, and then the more black and white one, that is a picture of earth. what does this suggest about our planet? does it suggests one day rivers and streams dry out or does there need to be a catastrophic event for that to happen? >> that would be catastrophic indeed. the earth is so blessed with water, and that's why it's so inhabitable. this is news from another planet that went through different history, different geological events and perhaps harbored life. will we see that with this rover? maybe. this is showing we had a lot of water in this particular location. >> you say you know there was water but now you have not boots

on the ground but a rover on the ground gathering all this information. if we could listen in to the private conversations going on now at nasa, what sort of exciting things are they? what possibilities are they talking about? >> one thing we will do is learn the composition of the pebbles because they represent a lot of different terrains potentially that fed this one area. and the cement that is holding them together is even more interesting, and perhaps, just perhaps, it's carbonate cement, and that's a different chemistry, and we will see more of this in days to come and rover will be active for at least two years, and there's a lot coming up. >> nobody wanted to invest in a latino man's dream of hoping up a restaurant in his dallas neighborhood.

a chef stopped at nothing to open his restaurant. >> he is unlike any chef and restaurant owner you have met. >> this is, you know, something that come from my heart. >> reporter: he is talking about construction, because he built this restaurant with his own hands. when raul wanted to start a restaurant, he says he was told, sorry, can't help. >> they said you are amazing chap, you are amazing, you create amazing dishes and your food is fantastic, and i don't think so. >> with that rejection in hand and $26,000 in savings, reyes got to work. >> everything in the restaurant, you found dumpster diving, in crash bins? >> uh-huh.

>> most everything in here is other people's trash? >> yes. >> these are crate pallets thrown away? >> i spent $80 on this bar. >> the bar costs you $80? >> yes. >> so you are a little bit of an artist, too? >> thank you, my friend. a little bit. >> in the last year, reyes and family and a few friends created the most unlikely sensation, and dallas magazine called it the restaurant of the year and now he is expanding. >> how many more tables are you going to put here? >> at least 20 tables. >> this carpenter by day, and chef by night, adding more space. >> all of this was leftover wood from a guy that builds fences. >> this is metal, too. >> many latino-owned startup business struggle for capital. >> definitely every city and i would say in the world has that

divide. and sometimes it's easier to start a business if you are in the right part of town. that is one of many barriers that you will encounter and you figure out a way just to hop over it. >> when night falls on jefferson boulevard, raul reyes puts down the hammer and works the mesa kitchen? >> you are not wearing a tool belt but now a chef's jacket? >> yeah, kind of. >> he is bottling his family inspired sauce and selling it in grocery stores, and he smiles when he thinks back to the investors that said gringos would not come to his part of town. >> we fill it full of gringos every night. be sure and watch when cnn presents "latino in america: courting their vote," and that

will be here on cnn. from the white house to wall street, our correspondents have what you can expect for the week ahead. we begin tonight with the presidential debate on wednesday. >> i am at the white house. a big week for president obama as he faces his gop opponent in the first presidential debate in wednesday on wednesday. a lot is riding on the performance of each candidate and both campaigns are trying to lower expectations. following the debate the president will spend the next two days campaigning in the important battleground state of ohio. by the way, president obama will prepare for the debates in nevada where he will also hold a campaign rally. and i am paul on the campaign trail. mitt romney flies to colorado tomorrow. he holds a rally in the swing state tomorrow night before making final preparations, and meanwhile paul ryan will

campaign in iowa i am poppy harlow. the september jobs report will be key for the market, and also key in the race for the white house. also ahead, we will get a look at september auto sales data as well as the latest look at construction spending. we will show if those indicate or show any signs of improvement like we have been seeing in the housing market. and shedding more light on the central bank's decision to try to further stimulate the u.s. economy, we will track that and all the business news on cnn money. and we have a big showbiz countdown this week of the best presidential impersonations ever. tune in and see if your favorites make the cut. high school students thought they were funny nominating a girl to the homecoming court as a joke, but she got the last laugh.

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♪ and the flowers and the trees all laugh when you walk by ♪ ♪ and the neighbors' kids... what does being true to yourself have to do with being healthy? everything. ♪ but you're not ♪ you're the one ♪ one, one, one, one, one ♪ the one ♪ one, one, one, one, one ♪ the one ♪ one, one, one... a young girl nominated for the homecoming court as a prank, she could have let it go but instead she embraced it. here is cnn's chris welch. >> reporter: a superstar practically overnight. 16-year-old whitney crop is a role model to anybody who has ever been bullied. >> we love you, whitney! >> reporter: this journey to

stardom, was hard. at her sister's urging, she decided to keep her title on the court. if i were in your position it would be hard to do. >> it's hard to do right now, because at first i had a thought about dropping out of the homecoming court, but i am not a joke that everybody thinks i am. i will prove the kids wrong. >> that's what she did. since then, she was swamped with support. >> to find out it was a joke really touched me. >> to the facebook page. >> it's so cool to see e-mails that she has -- we're getting or she is getting from parents and other students from all over the place telling their stories and telling how it helped them and touched them and my daughter is out there as an inspiration to a

lot of people and that's a really cool thing. >> you are like cinderella, but after much support you will have a great time at the ball. >> i thought before, nobody cares about me. i thought, you know, not even my own brother and sister care, but they are proving they do care. the world doesn't really care about me, but they care about the situation. >> reporter: folks from all over the state are here tonight and this group of girls travelled an hour away, and you left your homecoming game to come here, why? >> we wanted to show that we are 100% behind her. she is using her newfound fame to send a message. >> the kids that are bullying, do not let them bring you down. go with your heart and gut, and that's what i did, and look at me now. >> good for her. good for her. the cnn world headquarters in atlanta, have a good ni